There will be magic, chapter 13, RukaxYomi, Kaix?
Title: There will be magic
Author: yukigafuru
Chapters: 13/?
Pairings: RukaxYomi, Kaix? for now
Bands: Gazette, Naitomea, D... (and a surprise)
Rating: PG-15 for now
Warnings: will be angst, yaoi, a bit of gore here and there
Genre: AU, Angst, Romance
Disclaimer: I am not connected to the real persons. This is just a figment of my imagination and I don't make any money nor profit in any way out of this (well, except gathering your love that is).
Summary: The age of magic and mystery is coming towards its end. But what if someone that has the gift to see the future can join forces with others who have the power to stop it? What will be born then? What will be found?
A/N:
Chapter 13
Just like Ruka, Kai took to watching his mate's face, waiting for the moment the being would open it's beautiful eyes and gaze at him. He didn't want to stir the panther from it's restful sleep but just standing there, on the ground, next to the beautiful creature, made him reach out and touch the cute ears. He would have loved to stroke that midnight-black fur but he was afraid he'd wake him. Also, truth be told, his mate needed a bath. He'd be sure to drag the big cat to the spring as soon as the roc was certain that there was no danger in taking him there.
Ruka had watched everything that had happened. He was happy for Kai that he had found his mate and managed to heal him, especially since it seemed that now they were a bit closer to fulfilling their goal. The discovery of the panther, who seemed to hold such a big role in this game they were playing, also made Ruka hope a bit stronger that soon Yomi would wake up. It had only been hours since Yomi had closed his eyes, but to Ruka it seemed like an eternity. And with each moment that passed, it seemed like his very soul cracked a bit more and that tiny hope would lose a bit of it's heat. He knew he couldn't and wouldn't let it go, but it was hard; it was damn harder when knowing the roc's mate would wake up soon. Why couldn't Yomi just...
Ruka hated himself for thinking like that. He hated his selfishness but knew himself better than to not know that it was a big part of him. Ruka was selfish, territorial (like all vampires), sometimes cruel, not the funniest companion to be around and he was quite aware of who he was and had no plans of changing himself. He wondered what he had done to actually gain the love of the kitsune. Sure, he hadn't heard Yomi say the words, but it was already a known fact, for otherwise, Yomi would surely not have survived. And their quest would end in failure. Not that Ruka cared too much about that... sure he didn't want the world to end, but he wouldn't sacrifice himself or his loved ones for it. Call him a bastard, but seeing the state the panther had been in, could you really blame him? To think he had punished severely those vampires that had attacked humans lately... He'd still punish them even now, of course, disobeying him was a crime worse than most others, and threatening their utter exposure to the humans was another offence, but if those two little facts weren't at stake, Ruka would be the first to encourage them to feast on the pathetic race. They simply did not deserve to walk the earth. Yomi would never think that though. Even after his family had been a victim to those things, Yomi would not harbour thoughts of revenge. How could he be so angelic, so pure, so different from everything that Ruka was, and still love him, the vampire asked himself.
Kai's gaze descended from the panther's delicate features to its lithe body. He needed to put some meat on his mate. And then, he analysed carefully the battered wings. Not even his magic had been able to heal those. They were torn, crooked and twisted, and still somehow retained the semblance of what they were supposed to be. It was obvious that they were quite different from Kai's own. Kai's feathers were hard to the touch, stiff and sharp, unfit for being stroked or petted. Similar to the dragon's wings, they were more of an armour and propelling system. The panther's were different. They were shorter, smaller and denser and one could see that they were soft and downy. Kai wanted to touch them but didn't dare.
It was obvious what had happened to them. Humans used the same technique when caging birds, making sure that they wouldn't fly away: they cut their feathers. The birds would lose their ability to soar through the skies. The panther didn't have any feathers to cut tough, his wings were of a different construction, so it seemed that the humans adapted: they cut the entire lower part of the wing and then broke the remaining appendage in several places. The fractures had healed, but bones could not regrow. Kai doubted that the panther would ever be able to fly again.
He searched his knowledge over and over again for a way in which to heal the wings, give back to his mate just a small fraction of what he had lost. But he couldn't find anything. He wondered if the panther knew it. Maybe there was a way, but he just didn't know it. Maybe the panther did. Kai certainly hoped so. He wanted to see his mate's beautiful form flying freely through the skies.
Lost in his thoughts, Kai hadn't noticed the panther's breathing becoming heavier and coming faster, so he was surprised to see those brilliant eyes fixing him with their gaze.
’Why?' was the first thought that occurred to the panther. 'How can I still be alive when... And why is he here? Did he save me?'
“Hello. I'm glad to see you're finally awake. I healed you. How are you feeling?”
'He healed me? How? I was on the verge of dying... I wish I could answer him. His voice is so beautiful... And his eyes are so gentle. If only he knew he was my mate... Then what? There's no chance for you two, and you know it!'
Kai was surprised to see that the panther was not replying.
“Why won't you answer? We don't mean you any harm. I wish you'd tell me your name...” Kai continued with the same gentleness although some worry had also seeped into his tone.
But still there was no answer. The others were watching the two with curiosity and just a bit of dread.
'I can't. I can't answer you. How can I possibly let you know that?' The panther desperately thought.
“You can't answer me?”
'Yes!' And in order for the other to understand he lifted his paw and put it back down once.
Kai was very concerned. He had never heard of a creature not being able to speak in it's transformed form. Was it because the panther hadn't been raised next to it's kin? Was it because of the abuse?
“Do you know why?” The roc asked. The paw reply was a 'yes' again. “Is it because you have never spoken with another creature in this form before?” The paw did not move. Then... Kai shuddered upon considering the possibilities.
'He's so gentle. I've never had anyone this concerned for me even though they don't even know me. Did he guess that I'm his mate? Does he feel it too? The same way I can feel his emotions, his very being... can he feel mine? How do I tell you there's nothing you can do for me? That my wings will never heal?'
Kai turned away from the panther for a bit and asked the others if they had any idea about the situation. Upon feeling the others approach, the panther jerked up and took a defensive stance. “They're not going to hurt you. They're my friends.” Kai assured him, while gently petting the graceful head. It seemed the combination of petting and gentle words got the panther to relax.
“Do you understand us, too?” The king asked.
'No, I'm just an idiot who can't even distinguish between your annoying voice and the beautiful one of my mate.' The panther thought and would he have been in his other form, he would have rolled his eyes. 'Trust a dragon to ask the stupidest questions.' Unfortunately, he couldn't express all that so he just raised his paw in a yes while his tail moved a bit, betraying his annoyed state.
“I don't think he likes you a lot.” Kai said and sniggered. At that, the panther actually purred.
“And I can't believe the over grown cat can purr like that. Felines.” The king growled.
'Oh, you're lucky you're a friend of his, because otherwise... I'd cut you up into little pieces and serve you at breakfast, dragon.'
“Asagi, do you have any idea?”
No answer came. 'This one... I can't feel anything from him. It's almost as if he's hollow. Gives me the creeps.'
“I guess you do, but can't tell... Kai sighed. If only Yomi was awake. He could talk with him and find out.”
'Ha?' The panther wondered and somehow Kai must have interpreted the light in his eyes and the way it's ears and tail twitch for he explained.
“Yomi, the smaller one lying over there in the other man's arms. By the way, he's Ruka. Yomi's been sleeping for quite a time now and we don't know how to wake him up. He can talk with animals...” Hearing the panther growl a bit, Kai got it. “Not that I'm calling you an animal or anything.”
'Right. Well, if he might help me... why not.' The panther thought and approached the other two that had kept a distance. Seeing and feeling Ruka become protective, the panther stopped and turned his head towards Kai, who again must have interpreted the situation correctly. He loved that about his mate.
Upon hearing Kai say that the cat was not a problem, Ruka tried to relax a bit.
'At least he's making an effort. Geez! Love is sweet though.' He sniggered. 'Now to see what's wrong with this picture... right, we have an extremely possessive, bitchy and in love vampire... check, and then a sleeping kitsune, who just happens to have his magic levels sky-rocketing and his magic starting to fuse with the other's. Do these people get themselves into these messes, without any help?' The panther put his paw over the kitsune's chest and lowered his muzzle towards Yomi's face, when he felt Ruka becoming aggressive. 'Oh, geez, just shut up for a bit.' Ruka never knew what hit him but he relaxed immediately, all aggressiveness and possessiveness just left him and just kept watching the panther nuzzling his Yomi's face.
'There. All fixed.' The panther thought joyfully and indeed, just moments later, Yomi opened his beautiful amber eyes.
Ruka was too astonished to actually stir, while the rest simply drew closer to the three. The panther resumed a sitting position next to the couple.
“Yomi?” Ruka tried. He couldn't contain his happiness upon seeing Yomi's beautiful smile and he grabbed the other, embracing him tightly.
“Ruka, you're squashing me. I'm glad to see you too... Oh heavens, you're ok! Is everyone ok? What about Asagi? There was blood and...”
“Everyone is fine, Yomi.” Ruka whispered. “Never do that to me again.”
“Do what?”
“Yomi, you've been asleep for about a couple of days. We couldn't wake you up. Your magic levels fluctuated wildly.”The king explained.
“So how come I'm up?” Yomi asked and finally managed to turn into Ruka's arms and look around and saw for the first time the panther. “Hello there.” He said. He didn't notice that everyone was holding his breath.
'Can you understand me?'
“Of course I can.” Everyone let out a sigh. “Guys, exactly why are you so relieved?”
Kai explained the whole story to him, and in the meanwhile the panther understood how he had come back from the dead too.
'So he did save me. No wonder our magic is so connected now, if he transplanted some of his.'
“Yomi, why can't he talk with us? And why doesn't he change forms? I want to know about him... and see him.” Kai asked, blushing a bit towards the end.
'Because of my destroyed wings. There's nothing I want more than to be held by him... Oh, don't mention that last part... But as long as my wings are in this state, I cannot switch between forms, nor can I speak with other creatures. And they can't be healed. For a panther, his wings are the symbol of his powers, and also the place where a big part of our magic is stored. When we transform from our human form into this one, we actually unwrap them and use them to cover our body and then we transform. In this form, I should do the opposite, press them tightly against me and make them disappear. I can not do that anymore. Therefore, I can not transform.'
Yomi translated everything.
“I don't know how to heal them.” Kai admitted. “Doesn't he? My healing magic is quite powerful so if he only knew the way and used that to... I didn't know how to wake you up and he did it so easily. Maybe there is a way.”
'My powers aren't of the healing kind. I read and influence emotions and thoughts. That's how I used Kai's powers in the first place. Unconsciously, my magic must have read his memories, and taken possession of the knowledge needed. I helped you only by reinforcing some mental barriers. Your magic was too strong for your mind to catch up with it. You needed time for your mind and feelings to erect proper barriers and keep it in place. I just helped you do that... As far as I know, the only way to heal my wings would be to annul the wounds, turn back their time.'
Kai couldn't believe it. They couldn't have made it so far and... He couldn't have just met his mate and lost him at the same time. He approached the being, caressed the soft whiskers, and while staring straight into those brilliant eyes, said:
“Is there no way? I want to know your name, learn about you, hear your voice. I want to... fall in love with my mate.”
'So he knows... This is why I had given up on living. We can't be together.' The panther desperately thought.
The dragon king spoke for the first time in a long while. “It is not in my power to heal you. But it is in my power to annul them in another way. You could regain your human form. Of course, you'd lose this one, but... It's your choice to make.”
The panther growled loudly, a clear 'No'.
“What are you talking about?” Kai asked nonetheless.
“I can burn his wings completely. My fire will taint him. His body will become unable to hold on to his sacred form, the panther, and revert to the other one. But in doing so, he would have to relinquish a large portion of his magic and suffer the humiliation of it all... as well as unbelievable pain.”
Kai nodded. He understood. No matter how much he wanted to hold the other, he couldn't make him sacrifice so much. His hands dropped. He stood up and tried to regain a bit of hope and furthermore, give the panther a bit of hope too.
“At least Yomi can talk to you. And who knows, maybe we'll come across someone with those powers later on. Our journey has just started after all. I'm not giving up on this. I'm not giving up on us.” Kai added.
Even though Kai had tried to sound optimistic, the panther couldn't be deceived. He saw his very emotions: the disappointment, the fervent wish to get to know him, the anger towards himself for not being able to help, his guilt for even suggesting it. The panther couldn't allow his mate to feel like that, he just couldn't allow the one being that had healed his mind and his body to suffer, so he made his decision.
'Yomi, please tell him he will know my name.'
Kai seemed a bit happier upon hearing that, especially after hearing the dragon king say: “It is a great honour to hear the name of a panther, especially since they almost never share it.“
'Yes, it is. We don't even tell it to our mates, but just adopt a new one, the name they give to us. Panthers are creatures of change. Our powers tell that much about us. Just like feelings and thoughts, we constantly shape-shift, adding layers upon layers until not even ourselves can distinguish the original anymore. We share ourselves with the world, and yet, there is this unknown sphere that we share with no one.'
Kai gasped. He had no idea the panther was willing to give him so much of himself. And to think he couldn't give anything back, not in the same measure.
'Your love is more than enough, Kai. It already saved me once.' The panther thought but did not express it. 'I am going to miss reading your thoughts like this.'
And then, in the blink of an eye, he was bowing in front of the dragon, extending his poor excuse of wings, asking wordlessly for the dragon to burn them.
Kai started to oppose it. “No, king, you can't do that. I can't make him...” but it was too late. The dragon read the fierce determination in the panther's eyes and obeyed. He changed forms one moment and the next, from his majestic jaws, blue, unclean fire appeared, dividing itself into two serpent-like flames that burned precisely the two wings. The panther screamed and withered and agonized but he never gave in to the flame. He'd accept all kind of stains, for Kai, he'd even damn himself. The flames burned his wings and then wrapped him entirely, without harming him further. When the blue fire disappeared, a naked, frail form revealed itself to the others. Asagi covered the weakened panther with a blanket.
The panther stood. Kai had tears in his eyes, tears from being unable to stop what had happened, tears of despair and guilt and sadness but also, the shameful tears of happiness, for he was so glad to see him, his mate. And he was more beautiful than he could have imagined: sun-coloured, soft strands of hair framed his beautiful face, with it's plump, rosy lips, perfectly carved nose and those unmistakable, jewel-like eyes; his lithe, frail beautiful body, with it's creamy-like skin. Two long, serpent-like lines swayed over the creamy expanse of the being's arms, reminders of the fire that had burnt his wings away, but even the red serpents could not diminish, but just increase the panther's beauty.
The panther approached the roc with unsteady steps, his frail body draped in the blanket Asagi had given him. He was a bit shorter than Kai, which only made the roc's heart clench in tenderness for his mate. How he wanted to wrap his arms around him. Kai's heart seemed to stop it's beating, when the panther stopped in front of him, reached up and with his right hand, cradled his cheek. And then Kai heard his voice, and he knew he was in love, for he had never felt such a strong shock pierce through him, and such desire consume him as he did when hearing the soft sounds that came from those beautiful lips.
“My name is Ruki.”
Author: yukigafuru
Chapters: 13/?
Pairings: RukaxYomi, Kaix? for now
Bands: Gazette, Naitomea, D... (and a surprise)
Rating: PG-15 for now
Warnings: will be angst, yaoi, a bit of gore here and there
Genre: AU, Angst, Romance
Disclaimer: I am not connected to the real persons. This is just a figment of my imagination and I don't make any money nor profit in any way out of this (well, except gathering your love that is).
Summary: The age of magic and mystery is coming towards its end. But what if someone that has the gift to see the future can join forces with others who have the power to stop it? What will be born then? What will be found?
A/N:
Chapter 13
Just like Ruka, Kai took to watching his mate's face, waiting for the moment the being would open it's beautiful eyes and gaze at him. He didn't want to stir the panther from it's restful sleep but just standing there, on the ground, next to the beautiful creature, made him reach out and touch the cute ears. He would have loved to stroke that midnight-black fur but he was afraid he'd wake him. Also, truth be told, his mate needed a bath. He'd be sure to drag the big cat to the spring as soon as the roc was certain that there was no danger in taking him there.
Ruka had watched everything that had happened. He was happy for Kai that he had found his mate and managed to heal him, especially since it seemed that now they were a bit closer to fulfilling their goal. The discovery of the panther, who seemed to hold such a big role in this game they were playing, also made Ruka hope a bit stronger that soon Yomi would wake up. It had only been hours since Yomi had closed his eyes, but to Ruka it seemed like an eternity. And with each moment that passed, it seemed like his very soul cracked a bit more and that tiny hope would lose a bit of it's heat. He knew he couldn't and wouldn't let it go, but it was hard; it was damn harder when knowing the roc's mate would wake up soon. Why couldn't Yomi just...
Ruka hated himself for thinking like that. He hated his selfishness but knew himself better than to not know that it was a big part of him. Ruka was selfish, territorial (like all vampires), sometimes cruel, not the funniest companion to be around and he was quite aware of who he was and had no plans of changing himself. He wondered what he had done to actually gain the love of the kitsune. Sure, he hadn't heard Yomi say the words, but it was already a known fact, for otherwise, Yomi would surely not have survived. And their quest would end in failure. Not that Ruka cared too much about that... sure he didn't want the world to end, but he wouldn't sacrifice himself or his loved ones for it. Call him a bastard, but seeing the state the panther had been in, could you really blame him? To think he had punished severely those vampires that had attacked humans lately... He'd still punish them even now, of course, disobeying him was a crime worse than most others, and threatening their utter exposure to the humans was another offence, but if those two little facts weren't at stake, Ruka would be the first to encourage them to feast on the pathetic race. They simply did not deserve to walk the earth. Yomi would never think that though. Even after his family had been a victim to those things, Yomi would not harbour thoughts of revenge. How could he be so angelic, so pure, so different from everything that Ruka was, and still love him, the vampire asked himself.
Kai's gaze descended from the panther's delicate features to its lithe body. He needed to put some meat on his mate. And then, he analysed carefully the battered wings. Not even his magic had been able to heal those. They were torn, crooked and twisted, and still somehow retained the semblance of what they were supposed to be. It was obvious that they were quite different from Kai's own. Kai's feathers were hard to the touch, stiff and sharp, unfit for being stroked or petted. Similar to the dragon's wings, they were more of an armour and propelling system. The panther's were different. They were shorter, smaller and denser and one could see that they were soft and downy. Kai wanted to touch them but didn't dare.
It was obvious what had happened to them. Humans used the same technique when caging birds, making sure that they wouldn't fly away: they cut their feathers. The birds would lose their ability to soar through the skies. The panther didn't have any feathers to cut tough, his wings were of a different construction, so it seemed that the humans adapted: they cut the entire lower part of the wing and then broke the remaining appendage in several places. The fractures had healed, but bones could not regrow. Kai doubted that the panther would ever be able to fly again.
He searched his knowledge over and over again for a way in which to heal the wings, give back to his mate just a small fraction of what he had lost. But he couldn't find anything. He wondered if the panther knew it. Maybe there was a way, but he just didn't know it. Maybe the panther did. Kai certainly hoped so. He wanted to see his mate's beautiful form flying freely through the skies.
Lost in his thoughts, Kai hadn't noticed the panther's breathing becoming heavier and coming faster, so he was surprised to see those brilliant eyes fixing him with their gaze.
’Why?' was the first thought that occurred to the panther. 'How can I still be alive when... And why is he here? Did he save me?'
“Hello. I'm glad to see you're finally awake. I healed you. How are you feeling?”
'He healed me? How? I was on the verge of dying... I wish I could answer him. His voice is so beautiful... And his eyes are so gentle. If only he knew he was my mate... Then what? There's no chance for you two, and you know it!'
Kai was surprised to see that the panther was not replying.
“Why won't you answer? We don't mean you any harm. I wish you'd tell me your name...” Kai continued with the same gentleness although some worry had also seeped into his tone.
But still there was no answer. The others were watching the two with curiosity and just a bit of dread.
'I can't. I can't answer you. How can I possibly let you know that?' The panther desperately thought.
“You can't answer me?”
'Yes!' And in order for the other to understand he lifted his paw and put it back down once.
Kai was very concerned. He had never heard of a creature not being able to speak in it's transformed form. Was it because the panther hadn't been raised next to it's kin? Was it because of the abuse?
“Do you know why?” The roc asked. The paw reply was a 'yes' again. “Is it because you have never spoken with another creature in this form before?” The paw did not move. Then... Kai shuddered upon considering the possibilities.
'He's so gentle. I've never had anyone this concerned for me even though they don't even know me. Did he guess that I'm his mate? Does he feel it too? The same way I can feel his emotions, his very being... can he feel mine? How do I tell you there's nothing you can do for me? That my wings will never heal?'
Kai turned away from the panther for a bit and asked the others if they had any idea about the situation. Upon feeling the others approach, the panther jerked up and took a defensive stance. “They're not going to hurt you. They're my friends.” Kai assured him, while gently petting the graceful head. It seemed the combination of petting and gentle words got the panther to relax.
“Do you understand us, too?” The king asked.
'No, I'm just an idiot who can't even distinguish between your annoying voice and the beautiful one of my mate.' The panther thought and would he have been in his other form, he would have rolled his eyes. 'Trust a dragon to ask the stupidest questions.' Unfortunately, he couldn't express all that so he just raised his paw in a yes while his tail moved a bit, betraying his annoyed state.
“I don't think he likes you a lot.” Kai said and sniggered. At that, the panther actually purred.
“And I can't believe the over grown cat can purr like that. Felines.” The king growled.
'Oh, you're lucky you're a friend of his, because otherwise... I'd cut you up into little pieces and serve you at breakfast, dragon.'
“Asagi, do you have any idea?”
No answer came. 'This one... I can't feel anything from him. It's almost as if he's hollow. Gives me the creeps.'
“I guess you do, but can't tell... Kai sighed. If only Yomi was awake. He could talk with him and find out.”
'Ha?' The panther wondered and somehow Kai must have interpreted the light in his eyes and the way it's ears and tail twitch for he explained.
“Yomi, the smaller one lying over there in the other man's arms. By the way, he's Ruka. Yomi's been sleeping for quite a time now and we don't know how to wake him up. He can talk with animals...” Hearing the panther growl a bit, Kai got it. “Not that I'm calling you an animal or anything.”
'Right. Well, if he might help me... why not.' The panther thought and approached the other two that had kept a distance. Seeing and feeling Ruka become protective, the panther stopped and turned his head towards Kai, who again must have interpreted the situation correctly. He loved that about his mate.
Upon hearing Kai say that the cat was not a problem, Ruka tried to relax a bit.
'At least he's making an effort. Geez! Love is sweet though.' He sniggered. 'Now to see what's wrong with this picture... right, we have an extremely possessive, bitchy and in love vampire... check, and then a sleeping kitsune, who just happens to have his magic levels sky-rocketing and his magic starting to fuse with the other's. Do these people get themselves into these messes, without any help?' The panther put his paw over the kitsune's chest and lowered his muzzle towards Yomi's face, when he felt Ruka becoming aggressive. 'Oh, geez, just shut up for a bit.' Ruka never knew what hit him but he relaxed immediately, all aggressiveness and possessiveness just left him and just kept watching the panther nuzzling his Yomi's face.
'There. All fixed.' The panther thought joyfully and indeed, just moments later, Yomi opened his beautiful amber eyes.
Ruka was too astonished to actually stir, while the rest simply drew closer to the three. The panther resumed a sitting position next to the couple.
“Yomi?” Ruka tried. He couldn't contain his happiness upon seeing Yomi's beautiful smile and he grabbed the other, embracing him tightly.
“Ruka, you're squashing me. I'm glad to see you too... Oh heavens, you're ok! Is everyone ok? What about Asagi? There was blood and...”
“Everyone is fine, Yomi.” Ruka whispered. “Never do that to me again.”
“Do what?”
“Yomi, you've been asleep for about a couple of days. We couldn't wake you up. Your magic levels fluctuated wildly.”The king explained.
“So how come I'm up?” Yomi asked and finally managed to turn into Ruka's arms and look around and saw for the first time the panther. “Hello there.” He said. He didn't notice that everyone was holding his breath.
'Can you understand me?'
“Of course I can.” Everyone let out a sigh. “Guys, exactly why are you so relieved?”
Kai explained the whole story to him, and in the meanwhile the panther understood how he had come back from the dead too.
'So he did save me. No wonder our magic is so connected now, if he transplanted some of his.'
“Yomi, why can't he talk with us? And why doesn't he change forms? I want to know about him... and see him.” Kai asked, blushing a bit towards the end.
'Because of my destroyed wings. There's nothing I want more than to be held by him... Oh, don't mention that last part... But as long as my wings are in this state, I cannot switch between forms, nor can I speak with other creatures. And they can't be healed. For a panther, his wings are the symbol of his powers, and also the place where a big part of our magic is stored. When we transform from our human form into this one, we actually unwrap them and use them to cover our body and then we transform. In this form, I should do the opposite, press them tightly against me and make them disappear. I can not do that anymore. Therefore, I can not transform.'
Yomi translated everything.
“I don't know how to heal them.” Kai admitted. “Doesn't he? My healing magic is quite powerful so if he only knew the way and used that to... I didn't know how to wake you up and he did it so easily. Maybe there is a way.”
'My powers aren't of the healing kind. I read and influence emotions and thoughts. That's how I used Kai's powers in the first place. Unconsciously, my magic must have read his memories, and taken possession of the knowledge needed. I helped you only by reinforcing some mental barriers. Your magic was too strong for your mind to catch up with it. You needed time for your mind and feelings to erect proper barriers and keep it in place. I just helped you do that... As far as I know, the only way to heal my wings would be to annul the wounds, turn back their time.'
Kai couldn't believe it. They couldn't have made it so far and... He couldn't have just met his mate and lost him at the same time. He approached the being, caressed the soft whiskers, and while staring straight into those brilliant eyes, said:
“Is there no way? I want to know your name, learn about you, hear your voice. I want to... fall in love with my mate.”
'So he knows... This is why I had given up on living. We can't be together.' The panther desperately thought.
The dragon king spoke for the first time in a long while. “It is not in my power to heal you. But it is in my power to annul them in another way. You could regain your human form. Of course, you'd lose this one, but... It's your choice to make.”
The panther growled loudly, a clear 'No'.
“What are you talking about?” Kai asked nonetheless.
“I can burn his wings completely. My fire will taint him. His body will become unable to hold on to his sacred form, the panther, and revert to the other one. But in doing so, he would have to relinquish a large portion of his magic and suffer the humiliation of it all... as well as unbelievable pain.”
Kai nodded. He understood. No matter how much he wanted to hold the other, he couldn't make him sacrifice so much. His hands dropped. He stood up and tried to regain a bit of hope and furthermore, give the panther a bit of hope too.
“At least Yomi can talk to you. And who knows, maybe we'll come across someone with those powers later on. Our journey has just started after all. I'm not giving up on this. I'm not giving up on us.” Kai added.
Even though Kai had tried to sound optimistic, the panther couldn't be deceived. He saw his very emotions: the disappointment, the fervent wish to get to know him, the anger towards himself for not being able to help, his guilt for even suggesting it. The panther couldn't allow his mate to feel like that, he just couldn't allow the one being that had healed his mind and his body to suffer, so he made his decision.
'Yomi, please tell him he will know my name.'
Kai seemed a bit happier upon hearing that, especially after hearing the dragon king say: “It is a great honour to hear the name of a panther, especially since they almost never share it.“
'Yes, it is. We don't even tell it to our mates, but just adopt a new one, the name they give to us. Panthers are creatures of change. Our powers tell that much about us. Just like feelings and thoughts, we constantly shape-shift, adding layers upon layers until not even ourselves can distinguish the original anymore. We share ourselves with the world, and yet, there is this unknown sphere that we share with no one.'
Kai gasped. He had no idea the panther was willing to give him so much of himself. And to think he couldn't give anything back, not in the same measure.
'Your love is more than enough, Kai. It already saved me once.' The panther thought but did not express it. 'I am going to miss reading your thoughts like this.'
And then, in the blink of an eye, he was bowing in front of the dragon, extending his poor excuse of wings, asking wordlessly for the dragon to burn them.
Kai started to oppose it. “No, king, you can't do that. I can't make him...” but it was too late. The dragon read the fierce determination in the panther's eyes and obeyed. He changed forms one moment and the next, from his majestic jaws, blue, unclean fire appeared, dividing itself into two serpent-like flames that burned precisely the two wings. The panther screamed and withered and agonized but he never gave in to the flame. He'd accept all kind of stains, for Kai, he'd even damn himself. The flames burned his wings and then wrapped him entirely, without harming him further. When the blue fire disappeared, a naked, frail form revealed itself to the others. Asagi covered the weakened panther with a blanket.
The panther stood. Kai had tears in his eyes, tears from being unable to stop what had happened, tears of despair and guilt and sadness but also, the shameful tears of happiness, for he was so glad to see him, his mate. And he was more beautiful than he could have imagined: sun-coloured, soft strands of hair framed his beautiful face, with it's plump, rosy lips, perfectly carved nose and those unmistakable, jewel-like eyes; his lithe, frail beautiful body, with it's creamy-like skin. Two long, serpent-like lines swayed over the creamy expanse of the being's arms, reminders of the fire that had burnt his wings away, but even the red serpents could not diminish, but just increase the panther's beauty.
The panther approached the roc with unsteady steps, his frail body draped in the blanket Asagi had given him. He was a bit shorter than Kai, which only made the roc's heart clench in tenderness for his mate. How he wanted to wrap his arms around him. Kai's heart seemed to stop it's beating, when the panther stopped in front of him, reached up and with his right hand, cradled his cheek. And then Kai heard his voice, and he knew he was in love, for he had never felt such a strong shock pierce through him, and such desire consume him as he did when hearing the soft sounds that came from those beautiful lips.
“My name is Ruki.”